Precision Micro
We stretch
the boundaries
of possibility.
F
orget everything you thought you knew about stamping and etching:
Precision Micro's photochemical etching process is cutting edge in
every sense of the word. Ultra-precise and cost-effective, the technology
enables the production of super-fine, stress and burr-free components
capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, and is rapidly becoming part
of forward-thinking engineers' repertoires where previously they would have
used traditional metal machining processes. We find out why the process is
being used by everyone from satellite engineers to the military and how it
could transform every aspect of component production.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2014
A vision for
precision
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REVIEW | WINTER 2014
T
he management team at Precision
Micro is fizzing with excitement.
Mention the potential uses of the
company’s techniques and their eyes
positively gleam. On a mission to tell the
world about their techniques, the only thing
that dampens their mood is the thought that
other people don’t know what they do.
What they do is photochemical etching.
Also known as chemical machining, it
enables the production of bespoke, highprecision metal components with ultra-fine
etched apertures and surface features.
Precision Micro has further strings
to its bow, with LEEP (laser evolved
etching process), LEEF (laser evolved
electroforming (see side bar) and wire
electrical discharge machining (WEDM).
Originally a family business, it was
acquired by Meggitt in 2012 to secure the
side of its business that supplied etched
heat exchanger plates to Heatric, Meggitt’s
heat transfer engineering business
dedicated to energy markets, based in
Poole, UK.
it’s no surprise that it has settled in
well with its new family: its process is
very much in the Meggitt spirit. It involves
precision and accuracy and produces
components that can withstand extreme
environments—and at startling volumes:
Precision Micro produces more than 50
million components per year. Mick Taylor,
Commercial Director, describes it as
“precision on a grand scale.”
Photo etching is “not
part of most engineers’
repertoire”—many
design engineers are
simply not aware of
it. This is surprising
for a process that has
so many advantages
over traditional
manufacturing
methods.
In keeping with the Meggitt tradition,
Precision Micro is involved in groundbreaking techniques. It was the first
company in the industry to use laser direct
imaging in photo etching and it is always
SPEED READ
Precision on a grand scale
Acquired by Meggitt in 2012, Precision
Micro uses photochemical etching
to produce bespoke, high-precision
metal components. It also combines
photo etching with other processes
such as wire EDM and Laser Evolved
Electroforming.
Trends with benefits
The advantages of chemical etching
over more traditional methods such as
stamping and laser cutting are its low
cost, high speed, flexibility, suitability
for complex designs and, most
important, burr-free components whose
mechanical properties have not been
changed by heat or stress.
Extremely good
The nature of the etching process
makes Precision Micro’s components
particularly suited for use in extreme
environments and have been used in
space, aerospace, defence, automotive
(including Formula 1) and medical
devices.
Research pioneers
Precision Micro’s processes often
involve pioneering research and its
engineers are frequently involved at
the design stage, collaborating with
customers and exploring new ideas and
technology.
Etch-a-sketch
Prototypes are quick and inexpensive
to create so you can experiment with
designs. Precision Micro is eager to
hear from Meggitt design engineers
to find solutions to their technological
challenges. It can arrange WebEx
seminars and provide sample packs.
Photo opportunities
Precision Micro aims to double in size
in five years and has plans to expand
nationally, overseas, within the Meggitt
group and at the cutting edge of
technology.
looking for ways to innovate and develop.
Research and development are an essential
part of its business model.
Precision Micro has worked hard to
establish itself as Europe’s leading photo
etching company. Managing Director
of Piher Sensors & Controls and now
REVIEW | WINTER 2014
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55mm
A VISION FOR PRECISION
Above: The photochemical etching process
is stress-free and causes no material
distortion, unlike CNC machining and
stamping, making it the optimum process
for producing flat spring components for
safety critical applications, such as fuel
pumps and ABS braking systems.
Above: With complex, feature-dense
component features produced
simultaneously, photochemical etching
can produce ultra-fine meshes, sieves and
filters quickly and economically in both
prototype and production volumes.
Precision Micro, Rafael FernandezLadreda, says the company had the option
to move into product manufacture, but
has made a conscious decision to stay in
processing and concentrate on what it does
best—etching.
The challenge in taking the business
forward is that, as Taylor says, photo
etching is “not part of most engineers’
repertoire”—many design engineers are
As features are produced simultaneously,
it is no more expensive to create a
complicated design than a simple one.
It is also quick. It can take many
months to build and debug a stamping tool,
whereas a CAD-designed photo tool can be
created in under an hour. When one client,
Highland Biosciences, needed parts for
testing at a sub-contractor, for example,
the process was started on a Monday
If the component is a complex one,
photo etching really comes into its own,
particularly where feature density is high.
As features are produced simultaneously, it
is no more expensive to create a complicated
design than a simple one
simply not aware of it. This is surprising for
a process that has so many advantages over
traditional manufacturing methods.
Despite the high quality of the
components it produces, the process is
deceptively inexpensive, especially when
low to mid volumes are involved. Whereas
stamping, which involves tooling costing
many tens of thousands of pounds, can
make economic sense if producing large
numbers of components, the cost of
tooling may mean a short run is simply
not financially viable. Precision Micro
might charge as little as £100 to create the
template for a new design.
If the component is a complex one,
photo etching really comes into its own,
particularly where feature density is high.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2014
morning, the parts were manufactured,
with a full dimensional inspection report,
and hand-delivered on the afternoon flight
from Birmingham to Barcelona for delivery
to the sub-contractor that evening.
P
hoto etching is incredibly flexible.
Almost any metal—even high
performance and proprietary alloys
- can be photo etched. The components can
be formed, plated or electro-polished inhouse and photo etching can be combined
with other techniques such as LEEF and
wire EDM.
Perhaps the greatest advantage,
however, is the nature of the process itself.
The temperature the metal sheets are
exposed to has no effect on the properties
of the metal. What’s more, it produces
components that are stress-free and
burr-free—a huge improvement on other,
more traditional, processes. As Taylor says,
“It has all the strengths and none of the
weaknesses of other processes.”
Word is starting to get around and
Precision Micro has secured a number of
major long-term contracts with original
equipment manufacturers, notably in the
automotive industry. A five-year contract
with Continental has seen Precision
Micro making millions of springs for ABS
systems, whose life cycle is increased
by the fact that no stresses are added by
stamping or laser cutting.
Anyone driving a small car is likely to
benefit from Precision Micro’s technology,
too: it etches a flexure to control the flow
of fuel and a sound-dampening spring in
a revolutionary fuel pump found in most
small car engines, including Fiat, Audi,
Ford, GM, Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Seat,
Toyota, VW and Volvo.
Precision Micro has produced plates
for fuel cells used to power zero emission
vehicles. These plates required complex
channels and shapes - traditional tooling
for this would have run into many hundreds
of thousands of pounds.
Precision Micro has even ventured into
the high performance world of Formula 1.
In the 2009 season when the KERS (kinetic
energy recovery system—a forerunner of
hybrid power) was used for the first time,
Precision Micro worked with a F1 engine
manufacturer to provide components for
its high performance engines. Before
Precision Micro got involved, KERS had
been dogged with problems: stories
abounded of cars catching fire and people
getting electric shocks from the cars.
Reliability was more important than ever.
“We were part of a very select group of key
suppliers,” says Taylor.
Gratifyingly, with Precision Micro
on board, not only were there no further
problems, but it was so successful that
Precision Micro continues to provide
components for that engine.
“The F1 engineer is working to the very
extreme of engineering and technology,”
says Taylor. “He knows when he selects a
particular grade of material in a particular
condition that after we’ve processed it those
mechanical characteristics will still apply.
We don’t adjust them, we don’t introduce
any stress, we don’t take it through any
sort of significant thermal cycle, so he can
design with confidence.”
All of these factors make it especially
suitable for extreme conditions, and they
don’t come more extreme than space—a
field that Marcus Heather, Director of
Above top: Gary Gibson, Wire EDM technician, prepares a batch of
chemically etched saw blades before the profiling of their cutting
edge, which can be wire cut to an accuracy of ±5μ.
Above: Precision Micro’s etching process demands a high level of
skill, with operators needing at least five years’ experience before
being fully proficient. Precision Micro grows its own engineers
through internal training programmes for apprentices and new
recruits developed in partnership with Cranfield University.
Pawittar Kailey, Process Operator, pictured.
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A VISION FOR PRECISION
The temperature
the metal sheets
are exposed to has
no effect on the
properties of the
metal. What’s more, it
produces components
that are stress-free
and burr-free
Above: Mick Taylor, Commercial
Director at Precision Micro, will be
increasing the company’s 50 million
components per-year production by
expanding the company’s international
markets.
Above: Marcus Heather,
Director of Operations and
Engineering
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Operations and Engineering, describes
as “even more conservative than
aerospace”.
So it was that Precision Micro
became involved in a partnership
with a cryogenics manufacturer to
produce a diaphragm spring for a
satellite’s cryogenic cooler. The metal
was, according to Taylor, “a very high
performance material that’s very difficult
to process in conventional ways.”
“Because the flexure vibrates at a
high speed and in extreme environments,
any profile imperfections such as recast
layer or heat affected zones could lead
to fatigue failure,” adds Heather. “It
needed a process that didn’t change the
material’s properties. It was going into
a satellite so it needed to last. We had to
guarantee complete perfection.”
Indeed, the manufacturer had tried
other, more traditional, processing such
as wire EDM and laser cutting—and
even photo etching with one of Precision
Micro’s competitors—before Precision
Micro came up with a robust solution.
They collaborated with the engineers
until they had produced components that
were sufficiently precise and reliable to
be used in space.
Space engineering is not alone in
making exceptionally high demands.
The battlefield—another extreme
environment—is an additional frontier
where Precision Micro has been making
its mark, producing components for a
UAV micro-helicopter that can be sent
around corners and into buildings on
reconnaissance, reducing the danger
to soldiers. An aircraft weighing little
more than an AA battery presents
an aerodynamic challenge. Any
inconsistency will affect the balance so
precision is essential.
T
he company’s willingness to work
alongside other partners and to
participate in cutting edge research
has led it into medical applications, too.
It has been involved in the government’s
Technology Strategy Board consortium
group, developing a completely new
product for the medical market, designed
by a start-up company, Highland
Biosciences. This product will measure
endotoxins (potentially fatal toxins
produced when bacteria are killed) in
blood or other liquids, which hitherto have
only measured by a complicated and longwinded procedure.
“We etch the metal component shape
from a design,” explains Heather. ”That
component goes for screen printing and is
then assembled in a plastic capsule that
has to be sealed and separated from the
environment so that it is medically clean.”
The component could not be produced
without photo etching, Heather explains.
“This product cannot be stamped—we
cannot use competing technology. It
has to be chemically etched to protect
the properties of the metal—any other
processes potentially change the structure
of the metal. If you stamped the product,
stamping might introduce mechanical
stresses and burrs. Laser cutting will also
thermally affect the material properties.
If the structure of the metal changes, the
device can’t be consistent and it won’t
work in the market place.”
The F1 engineer
knows that a
material’s mechanical
characteristics will
still apply after we’ve
processed it, so he can
design with confidence
Equally revolutionary is Precision
Micro’s work with a global medical device
manufacturer, for which it has developed
a process for a bone-cutting saw blade for
hip and knee replacement surgery.
The manufacturer had been getting
the first stage etched by a competitor in
the US before sending the components
away to get the bone-cutting element laser
cut and then bringing them back to be
ground and polished. This was expensive
and involved a number of different
companies.
EXCITING APPLICATIONS FOR PHOTOCHEMICAL ETCHING
Formula 1
F1 teams have come to depend on the innovative approach
and speed of service that Precision Micro provides.
UAV helicopter
Flexure springs for cryogenic cooler
The pocket size UAV, features miniature motor laminations
which uses the photo-resist protecting the material surface
during photochemical etching as the bonding agent. This novel
approach offers improved performance versus conventional
punched, riveted or welded laminations.
Flexures made using photochemical etching retain their
properties even after many years of continuous operation,
essential to the reliability and system life-time of highsensitivity sensor systems used in space.
REVIEW | WINTER 2014
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Think it
can’t be
done
Precision Micro delivers metal parts other
manufacturers can’t.
Where our competitors fail, we excel,
working with our global customer base to
perfect—and we mean perfect—3-D objects
in virtually any metal from our advanced 2-D
photo etching process.
Which means ultra-light and complex,
burr and stress-free components to
10µm accuracy—and problem-solving
opportunities to a new order of magnitude
for you.
And we do it to exacting tolerances simply
not possible with conventional machining.
We can help there, too. Our digital tooling
makes design iteration possible at Mach 3
speeds without incurring excessive cost.
To create even smaller, even finer
components, we combine photo etching
with laser direct imaging, atom-by-atom
electro-forming or electric current
and fine wire.
So when we have together created the
perfect part you never knew you could
have, we have the capacity to move from
development to high volume production.
Think smaller with Precision Micro.
50 µm
A VISION FOR PRECISION
Precision Micro’s purpose built plant boasts a class 10,000 clean room and laser direct imaging technology,
which enables greater accuracy and finer features. Tomasz Swiecicki, Process Operator, pictured
Anthony Marrett, former business owner,
checking a photo tool for quality before use.
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Precision Micro was able to offer
a one-stop shop, halving the number of
processes. With some development it was
able to etch the first and second profiles
before using a wire EDM machine to cut
the teeth and then polishing the component
ready for use.
heather is proud of this project. It is,
he says, a classic example of the Precision
Micro ethos. “We’re a lot more than just
etching a sheet of metal. We’re offering an
intelligent, entrepreneurial, alternative
solution to whatever customer works with
us. They get the part quicker. They get
better quality and it’s more cost-effective.”
As for the future, the firm is investing
in titanium etching capability, with a new,
dedicated facility operational in early
2015. This development was driven by
a partnership with the world’s leading
provider of lithography systems for
the semiconductor industry, for which
Precision Micro makes cooling plates.
It will make Precision Micro the first
plant in Europe to etch titanium on a
production scale.
It is just this kind of project that leads
the Precision Micro team to believe that
there are many other potential applications
for photo etching. It is already making
heating elements for Meggitt Polymers &
Composites’ ice protection systems and the
team is keen to take the business further
within the group.
Meggitt’s Chief Technology Officer,
Keith Jackson, talks enthusiastically about
the company’s potential within Meggitt and
believes that the business’s use of additive
technology could take it into new internal
We’re a lot more
than just etching a
sheet of metal. We’re
offering an intelligent,
entrepreneurial,
alternative solution
to whatever customer
works with us
markets. This technology, which involves
taking plates, etching them with channels
and surface features, stacking and bonding
them,,enables them to create channels
and unique, lightweight structures that are
especially suited for cooling by passing air
or liquid through them.
Left: Commercial Director, Mick Taylor, and Senior Costing Engineer, Karl Hollis, discuss
process Takt time (the time each sheet of parts takes to come off the production line) .
The bigger picture
Precision Micro is thinking big. With a sales programme that will
include seminars, trade shows, branding exercises and social
media campaigns, Rafael Fernandez-Ladreda, who also runs Piher
Sensors & Controls, Meggitt’s positions and controls designer and
manufacturer headquartered in northern Spain, aims to double the
business in the next five years. “The market is waiting to explode,” he
says.
His expansion plans include consolidating other, smaller
businesses in a market dominated by fragmented, family-owned SMEs
and growing Precision Micro’s share of international markets.
The association with Piher has advantages for both parties. Piher
will, says Fernandez-Ladreda, benefit from Precision Micro’s chemical
expertise (he would love, for example, to find a way to clean and
activate copper so that it could replace gold in Piher’s printed circuit
resistors) as well as its IT know-how. In turn, Precision Micro can learn
from Piher’s knowledge of electronics.
The two companies have much to offer each other in terms of
economies of scale in the form of shared resources such as licences,
data collection, and warehouse and exhibition space, as well as sales
networks.
Continuous improvement will come to both enterprises with the
deployment of the Meggitt Production System and, hand in hand with
this, greater automation of Precision Micro’s process.
More widely, Fernandez-Ladreda is quick to acknowledge the
benefit of being under the Meggitt umbrella. “Big corporations don’t
want to do business with small independents. Belonging to Meggitt
gives Precision Micro an advantage over its competitors,” he says. “We
are respectable—you can introduce us to your mother.”
Image caption
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A VISION FOR PRECISION
This 82mm squared
mesh, manufactured
in nickel using the
LEEF process, is used
in mass spectrometry.
Featuring a 90%
open area, each 18μ
strand would reach
37 metres in length if
placed end to end.
By diffusion bonding
chemically etched
plates, Precision
Micro’s engineers
can create complex
pipes and channels
in a wide range of
metals, including
high temperature
alloys.
Meggitt gives
Precision Micro an
advantage over its
competitors. We are
respectable—you
can introduce us to
your mother
complicated heating minimising joins and
interconnects in composite structures.
In time, conductors can be embedded
for power, data, sensing and actuation
allowing the construction of truly smart
structures like a composite aircraft
surfaces with heating and structural
health monitoring features.
Jackson is excited by the potential
for making sensors in Precision Micro’s
creation of spring devices measuring
movement. “I have wondered whether
using the etching process would be a way
of opening up more variety in developing
Cutting edge: a
new range of bone
saws developed by
Precision Micro for
a leading global
medical device
manufacturer.
The type of work
we do is unlimited.
If you are using
conventional
machining methods,
you need to consider
our technologies
the levers in vibration sensors or energy
harvesting devices,” he says. “An energy
harvesting device tends to only work
around the same frequency. If you have
more complex levers, you could have
something that resonates at different
frequencies.”
The message to the rest of the
Meggitt group is clear. “The type of work
we do is unlimited,” says Taylor. “If you are
using conventional machining methods,
you need to consider our technologies.”
Precision Micro
and fellow Meggitt
Equipment
Group business,
Piher Sensors
& Controls, are
collaborating in
the production of
a revolutionary
new biosensor for
medical device
start-up Highland
Biosciences.
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“They can build hollow structures
such as coolers that are curved to fit
the environment. They can produce very
REVIEW | WINTER 2014
Photo etching at a glance
Photo-sensitive polymer is applied
to a cleaned, raw metal sheet with
a thickness of between 10 microns
and 2 mm.
The polymer—or photo resist—
has the design of the component
marked on it using CAD-designed
photo tools.
The metal is exposed to UV light
to leave the design pattern hardened
into an acid-resistant surface.
The sheet is then developed
and any unexposed laminate is
washed clear.
Etchant is sprayed on to the
sheet, dissolving the exposed areas
of metal, revealing the product
design. The metal may be exposed
either on one side only to create
surface features, or on both sides
to create an aperture or profile.
The component is then cleaned
and finished to the customer
specification prior to final inspection.
22mm diameter
Laser Evolved Etching
Process (LEEP)
Laser Evolved
Electroforming (LEEF)
This process introduces laserdirect imaging (LDI) into the
chemical etching process.
48 interlaced laser beams scan
across the surface of the resist
material, creating a pattern with
dimensional accuracy measured
in microns.
It enables the production
of highly accurate micro
components with finer features
and higher complexity than
before, to tolerances measured
in microns.
This is an additive process
rather than a subtractive one.
Components are grown on
a mandrel, atom by atom, with
micron accuracy. It can be used
to create 3D components with
multiple layers and features
which can be as small as
a quarter of the diameter of
a human hair. It is particularly
useful for making components
that need tiny apertures such
as ultra-fine meshes used in
blood filtration.
22mm diameter
22mm diameter
COME UP AND SEE OUR ETCHINGS
To demonstrate its potential capabilities, Precision Micro can arrange AR&T seminars by WebEx.
Feedback from previous seminars has been overwhelmingly positive and the company is keen to
offer its expertise to help design engineers solve their technological challenges. “We want your
drawings,” says Taylor.
Since the cost of creating prototypes is so low, the team encourages Meggitt design engineers
to test their ideas out. “You can try stuff,” says Jackson.. “You can come and play.”
More information about Precision Micro is available from www.precisionmicro.com, where
the processes are explained and illustrated in information videos. Samples of its components can
be obtained from Lee Weston (lee.weston@meggitt.com), who can also arrange seminars.
REVIEW | WINTER 2014
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A VISION FOR PRECISION
The etching process
1
echnical Manager, Albert Tsang, and
T
CMM Programmer, Russell Davidson,
review customer—supplied CAD data
before photo tooling production.
2
Team leader, Randy Russell, loads
pre-cut raw metal sheets into
the ferrous cleaning line, where
contaminants are removed.
3
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REVIEW | WINTER 2014
he material is transferred to
T
Precision Micro’s class 10,000 clean
room where it is then laminated
between two layers of photosensitive polymer.
7
UV
UV
4
sing the photo tool as a
U
mask, the material is exposed
to UV light which leaves the
design pattern hardened into
the acid-resistant surface.
8
5
he remaining protective
T
laminate is removed to expose
the finished components. The
products shown are supplied
to F1 teams and are used for
high performance sealing
applications.
omponents are automatically
C
visually and dimensionally inspected
before despatch. The flat springs
shown in the image form an integral
part of a fuel pump and make more
than one billion cycles over the
course of their lives.
he developing process washes
T
any unexposed laminate from
the sheet to expose the raw
metal ready for etching.
9
6
recision Micro offers in-house
P
forming, wire EDM, plating,
machining, electro-polishing and
bonding, which facilitates additive
layer products such as compact and
shaped heat exchangers.
tch room manager, Neil
E
Jennings, removes etched sheets
from one of ten conveyorised
etching lines.
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